1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates generally to processes for making hydrated peanut products and more particularly is directed towards a new and improved process for making peanut products in a wide range of peanut-to-water ratios.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
A considerable amount of work has been done with respect to the processing of natural peanuts in different ways in order to achieve various peanut based food products. Peanuts are recognized as an excellent source of nutrition, are relatively low in cost, plentiful and provide the important food components of oil, protein and carbohydrates. One well-known product is that of peanut butter which is produced by shelling, roasting, blanching and then grinding the nuts into a paste.
Other peanut products include peanut flour which is made by grinding nuts into a powder and extracting a substantial amount of oil so that the ground nuts do not agglomerate. This provides a finely ground peanut product that is easy to handle and useful in the production of numerous food products often as a substitute for wheat flour, soy beans or the like.
Whole peanuts have also been produced with a low fat content by pressing and reconstituting the nuts as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,549 entitled "Partially Defatted Nut Meats And Process" by Vix et al. Such nuts are characterized by high protein and low calorie content. These nuts are useful not only as food products in themselves but also may be used as starting material in other products such as flavored nuts of the sort shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,752 entitled "Method Of Making Stabilized Impregnated Peanuts."
One particular disadvantage of prior art processes, especially with respect to those that are directed towards the production of peanut flour or other particulated peanut products, is that they have relatively little control over the moisture content of the nuts. For example, in the Mitchell U.S. Pat. No. 3,689,287 there is shown a method of producing peanut-water dispersions stabilized by heat wherein the peanuts are first finely ground with or without water and then additional water is required to form a fluid suspension. The suspension is then cooked to thicken and stabilize it. This technique involves a minimum moisture content of the cooked dispersion of about 50% thereby requiring a drying process of the ground nuts or slurry in order to produce a dry flour material. Another disadvantage of previous techniques is that after grinding and adding water, the suspension must be immediately heat-treated to stop the actions of enzymes and microorganisms. Even so, there may be some adverse effect during the short period of solids-water contact before the heat treatment.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved process for making hydrated peanut products. Another object of this invention is to provide a process for producing a variety of ground peanut products having virtually any desire moisture content. Still another object of this invention is to provide a process for making particulated peanut products having a long shelf life, and a material which may be provided in various conditions of particle size as well as moisture content for a wide range of uses.